Dallas and Rich are a delightful couple and this blog about their ceremony on Love Toast Blog was so wonderful I wanted to share it as is. Thanks to their photographer, Kate Connolly, for her great pictures.
Rich is from Thailand and Dallas is from, you guessed it, Texas and this was a wedding not to be missed. We combined Thai tradition with very much their own style for their delightful wedding at The Second Empire in Raleigh. I loved how they truly claimed the ceremony as theirs and expressed their love with tenderness and fun.
At the beginning of the ceremony we had a Thai ceremony called 'rod nam sang' in which guests poured holy water from a conch shell over the couple's hand and offered them a blessing upon their marriage. 'Rod nam' means soak with water and 'sang' is the name for the Conch Shell that is used in the ceremony.
You'll also see pictures of another special part of their wedding. The
bride and groom wear garlands round their neck and kneel and while a senior elder in the bride's or groom's family says a few words and anoints
them on the forehead.
Another Thai ceremony at their wedding is when the
couple kneel ‘wai’ as a specially prepared white thread, ‘sai monkhon’, is looped and used
to link together the bride’s and the groom’s heads. It is symbolic that the
thread forms two circles which whilst linked, also remain independent. This
indicates that the couple’s destinies are linked, but individual identity is
retained. The circle is also symbolic because of its continuity and the fact
that merit can be carried around in the circle. The thread is then torn on the side until
it breaks and whoever has the longest piece is supposed to be the one whose
love is deepest.
Then we continued with the more traditional elements of the ceremony. We all loved how Rich would tear up and Dallas would whisper funny things to him to balance those very tender emotions of the moment. And there was much hooting and hollering of congratulations at the end.
They had so much fun at their wedding and everyone else did, too. It was small and intimate so no one hesitated held back with tears, laughter or blessings.
You'll enjoy reading about it, too! They're a wonderful couple. I send them many blessings!
On August 15th I had the privilege of marrying Farrah and Andy. I had been involved in their planning more than with most other couples, encouraging them to check our The Barn at Valhalla (just outside of Chapel Hill off highway 54 west) when they were looking for sites that might not already be booked already for their desired Saturday. And they were delighted with The Barn which seemed perfect for their needs.
There's a large sloping lawn, ......
A large paneled lodge house with bedrooms upstairs that look like it could be a NC version of an Aspen ski lodge and a lovely large deck for cocktails.
The day was warm so the guests were provided with those wonderful fans that show up at summer weddings. I'm a fan of them (Oh, bad pun!) but they do make the difference between warm and hot.
Farrah and Andy met in Thailand and grew their love on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. It was great that her father and sister could be here for her wedding. She had a simple bouquet of summer wild flowers which beautifully offset her elegant dress. The wildflowers came from Andy's parent's yard and the yard of their friends, Bob and Brenda Vance. Bob and Brenda also arranged the bouquets.
Grace was their flower girl. She and her family are special friends of Farrah's. And our ring bearer was carrying a special pillow made from Thai silk, fashioned by Andy's mother. It's a good thing he wasn't carrying the real rings!
During the ceremony their friends read poetry of their own choosing which was light spirited about how they imagined each one of them would be in marriage.
Then after their exchange of vows and rings we had a special ceremony that was part of the tradition of her part of northeastern Thailand, called ' Isaan.' The ceremony is called 'pook khan.' (phonetically in English that is), and it symbolizes the welcoming of the new member of the family. It signifies congratulations and the unity of the new family being created.
It's performed by tying a cotton thread around Andy's and Farrah's wrists. The thread came from Farrah's home town of Khon Kaen and was brought by her father just for this purpose. We invited each of the members of Andy's and Farrah's families to come forward and each tie a thread around both their wrists and when doing so, offer them either a silent or verbal blessing. It was a softly spoken ceremony full of joy accompanied by delightful fiddle music provided by family friends, Jani and Buddy. (You can see the simple cotton thread bracelets in this picture from their reception.)
Their recessional music was ragtime. It seemed wonderfully upbeat and fitting for their day. All their ceremonial music was provided by Melissa, Andy's aunt who is a professional musician in Ohio with Bella Musica Columbus. She played the electric keyboard, which worked with the help of a looooong cord.
I was amazed at this picture and hoped that the wedding party didn't need to do this often. But by the men wearing suits they were much more comfortable than in formal wear, which doesn't breathe at all in the heat. Somehow I think this one was before, not after the one above.The wonderful pictures were all taken by Andy's friend, Rand Harcz. He's also a professional photographer. We thank him!
The General Store in Pittsboro did the wonderful catering and the cake for the reception, and Jorgie Brown from The General Store was the wedding organizer for the day. She was a huge help in so many ways.
It was good to recently hear that Farrah's paperwork to stay in this country is going well. I wish them both a wonderful life.
